ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

J. Alan Sharrer

Jungle Cruise: Watch Your Step

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“Over there are the remains of my last crew. You can tell they had a good time–look; they are still smiling!  Those smiles are just plastered right on their faces.”

One of the more unique rides at Disney World and Disneyland involves a boat cruise. No, I’m not talking about the Liberty Belle that circles Tom Sawyer Island. Instead, the Jungle Cruise is a fast-paced tour of a tropical river, complete with waterfalls, headhunters, hippos, and a wise-cracking tour guide with a penchant for perfectly horrible puns. The ride is fun, but is the newest film from Disney (of the same name) just as enjoyable?

Jungle Cruise certainly has its moments but leaves too much of the ride’s fun out at the expense of a journey that feels forced in the second half of the film. Nevertheless, there are some good reminders of heroism, trust, and sacrifice we all would be better off talking a look at.

Since I’ve already provided most of the film’s plot, it might be wise to introduce the main cadre of characters. MacGregor and Lily Houghton (Jack Whitehall and Emily Blunt) are a brother/sister pair who live in England during WWI and are trying to seek funding for an expedition to the Amazon. Their goal is to find the Tree of the Moon and recover some petals from it for healing. (Seriously, haven’t we seen and heard this plot device before?) He shares the proposal; she uses her expert cunning to acquire an arrowhead meant for Prince Joachim (Jesse Plemons) that may prove to be useful. She also knows how to pick locks, and it opens a lot of doors for her.

Upon their arrival at Porto Velho in Brazil, they meet Frank (Dwayne Johnson), a wisecracking tour guide who, well, cracks constant jokes and seems to have the entire jungle working to make his rapid-fire puns work to the delight (and disdain) of tourists. He needs funds to keep his boat going or Nilo (Paul Giamatti) will take it.

Enter Lily and MacGregor. She’s an adverturer; he’s like Princess Vespa in Spaceballs, complete with tons of luggage. Frank soon learns he’s met his match in Lily (other than the fact that she’s deathly afraid of water). The journey leads to numerous confrontations with said headhunters and Prince Joachim, who makes the journey to the Amazon in a submarine (too bad it went under).

Once Frank and crew nearly go over a waterfall, the story switches from fun-loving and joking to high-stakes adventure. To accomplish this Herculean task, Frank reveals some unique aspects about himself. Lily has to get over her fear of water (and receives a few kisses from Frank in an odd manner). The tree appears, but not before Prince Joachim shows up (along with various forms of Aguirre [Edgar Ramirez]–some of which are rather creepy). The tree blooms. You can probably guess what happens next.

Does the embellishment of a 20-minute ride into a 2-hour film work? I think that if the jokes were kept at a steady stream and the adventure was more unique, it would be quite good. Jungle Cruise is not a bad film, but certain things caused my mind to wander from the plot. For example, the Disney opening has a Metallica song playing underneath it. There’s a reason for it, but I’m not sure “Nothing Else Matters” quite fits. In addition, there’s a strange mishmash of films ranging from the Indiana Jones series, The Mummy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and even Beauty and the Beast (note the color of the tree petals and how the conflict is resolved in the end). It’s wacky and unrealistic, but there’s some fun—enough to justify the film’s run time of two hours.

Director Jaume Collet-Serra found two fantastic leads in Johnson and Blunt, and their chemistry is evident from the moment they lay eyes on each other. Whitehall is on the screen a good amount as well but comes off as wooden and uninspired. Prince Joachim is laughable for the wrong reasons. Outside of that, the main character of the film is the CGI. The river sequences are absolutely gorges in some places, a bit wonky in others (the waterfall sequence), and creepy when Aguirre shows up (hope you like snakes—they have a bit of a hissy fit).

I think it’s important to note that there are a number of specific themes that can be detected in Jungle Cruise—heroism, trust, and sacrifice being three of them. Another, more subtle, aspect to the film comes in the form of standing alongside those one cares about and loves. Although MacGregor and Lily are brother/sister, there’s a telling line about halfway through the movie. When Frank asks MacGregor why he is so close to Lily, he replies that she “stood by me, and for that, I would’ve followed her into a volcano.” It does have a Samwise Gamgee/Frodo feel to it, but that’s one aspect of true friendship.

The writer John Donne noted in Meditation 17 that “No man is an island, entire of itself.” (You can also translate that as “toucan do better than one can.”) It has been difficult for many people during the worldwide pandemic when physical distancing has been the norm. To that end, many have resorted to life in front of a computer, using programs like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams to create virtual community. Over time, however, the sense of unity has drifted further and further away from view, bringing some to a breaking point. My prayer is that we would take the time to communicate intentionally to those we love (even bringing back what worked a generation ago—a simple phone call) and growing those relationships. At some point in the near future, we will be able to stand by those people in real time, reminding them that friends are there in times of need (see Proverbs 18:24).

Until then, we can agree that puns are good things, the Rock and Emily Blunt need to be in more films together, and it’s okay to be there for those dear to us. If it takes Jungle Cruise to remind us, that’s perfectly fine.

Also remember that, if you feel your feet getting wet as you leave the boat, you’ve probably gone out the wrong side.

Jungle Cruise can be streamed on Disney+ or viewed at your local theater (depending on area).

Luca: Finding Your Way (With Some Help)

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“Just follow my lead . . . I know what I’m doing.”

One of the strangest books that I’ve had the opportunity to read involved a seaside town, romance, swashbuckling feats, and unique creatures not indigenous to the local population. It was also a parody.  Entitled Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben Winters, it’s exactly what Jane Austen would’ve penned at her desk if she had a penchant for the macabre. There’s little to say about the plot that isn’t given in the title, so I’ll spare you the details (except that Leviathan makes an appearance). 

Thankfully, Pixar’s latest film Luca does not go the way of Winter’s book. It tells a tale of three kids who, in many respects, find their way in life—except that two of them are also sea monsters.  It’s an interesting concept and is both cute and touching at times.  However (and it pains me to say this as a Pixar aficionado), it’s quite disjointed and misses a great opportunity to dive deep into some relevant issues of our time.

Outside the Italian town of Portorosso lives a family of sea monsters—Daniela (voiced by SNL regular Maya Rudolph), Lorenzo (comedian Jim Gaffigan), Grandma (Sandy Martin), and Luca (Jacob Tremblay).  They’re preparing for an upcoming craft show, so Luca is left to tend to a school of fish that act like sheep.  While doing so, he comes across an alarm clock and other items from above water.  Another monster named Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer) takes then from him, and when Luca follows him, he suddenly finds himself on a beach, transformed into a human being (not unlike Daryl Hannah in the 1980’s film Splash).  It seems this class of sea monsters has the ability to transform into humans if there’s no water on their bodies.

Alberto lives in an old castle turret where he’s kept all of his collected human items, including a poster of a Vespa. Since neither is familiar with the ways of land dwellers, they believe they can create their own Vespa out of the collected items and run away from their past (Luca’s parents are ultra-constricting, which doesn’t make matters any better). They visit Portorosso and nervousness sets in for Luca—will he be outed as a sea monster?

When they actually see a real Vespa, they naturally gravitate to its owner, Ercole (Saverio Raimondo), who promptly dismisses them with insults. Their saving graces are a girl named Giulia (Emma Berman) and an annual competition of swimming, pasta eating, and bike riding that Ercole has won five consecutive years.  Giulia has tried in the past, but pasta and bike riding don’t always pair well—especially when accomplished back to back.  Luca and Alberto offer to help her win, so she invites them over for dinner.  Her father, Massino (Marco Barricelli), has only one hand but loves to go after sea monsters (he also looks a lot like the father in the Pixar short “La Luna” [2011]).  While this plays out, a sweet friendship between Luca and Giulia begins to bloom, leaving Alberto in the cold. Meanwhile, Daniela and Lorenzo enter town, take on human form, and realize that if they get a sea monster wet, they can find their runaway son.

Will Alberto and Luca be discovered as sea monsters?  Will Giulia finally defeat Ercole in the Portorosso Cup?  Will Ercole act like a smarmy, entitled jerk that has created a pseudo-Mafia to make things happen? Will something come of the friendships between the three kids? The answers come in typical Pixar form with a few minor surprises thrown in for good measure.

Although I think Luca is a fine film with a familiar animation style and a fantastic soundtrack, something’s off this time around. The plot is a bit simplistic and bounces from point to point with minimal connections. The Vespa sequences and Daniele and Lorenzo’s parental mission to dump water on every child of Portorosso get old after a while.  However, the biggest issue with Luca involves the wasted opportunities to go deep on subjects such as hiding from one’s dreams, running away from life, the monsters inside each of us, and parental overprotection.  As a result, director Enrico Casarosa’s film feels limited, sort of like the cramped streets of Portorosso itself. An additional five or ten minutes may have made the difference. 

Two things stuck out to me while watching. One: the cat Machiavelli is a scene-stealer. Two: the sheer unlikability of Ercole surprised me. He acts like he runs the town, but nobody ever calls him out for his attitude, sarcastic comments, and brazen lying (he’s too old to compete in the Portorosso Cup yet is still allowed to compete). However, his omnipresence makes any success by the protagonists that much sweeter.

It is important not to discount the emphasis that Luca places on the value of friendships and helping others find their way. Simply put, Luca would’ve never grown had he visited his Uncle Ugo (Sacha Baron Cohen) and disappeared into the black netherworld of deep water. Instead, he had Alberto and Giulia along for the ride.  A proverb states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV); this certainly proves to be the case with each transforming the others into something better by the end of the movie. Trying to go through life alone isn’t the answer; letting people come alongside to cry, comfort, and cheer with and for us adds a richness and depth to draw from in challenging times. In many ways, this is what salvages the film for me.

Well, that and a few plates of Massino’s pasta.

Luca is available in theaters and Disney+ as of June 18,2021

Breaking News in Yuba County: The Affirmations Run Out

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He’s missing! Then again, so is a slice of my birthday cake…

I think it’s safe to say that most of us have had days where it seemed like nothing seemed to go right. The car ran out of gas; a coworker received a promotion instead of you; a stain appeared on your outfit that couldn’t be easily disguised; and many more situations that have already come to your mind. 

In the case of Sue Buttons (Allison Janney), her life seems to consist of nothing good. At the beginning of Tate Taylor’s Breaking News in Yuba County, she picks up a birthday cake for herself while muttering affirmations to herself (“I am good”; “I am special”). The cake is misspelled and she is unable to do anything about it. She drives to her job at a call center and her first call is demeaning. She thinks her workplace remembered her birthday, but their celebration was for another person.  These are only the beginning of her issues thanks to a completely dysfunctional family and a latent desire to be known and respected.

In theory, this sounds like a fantastic premise for a film. Add in an extremely talented group of Hollywood actors (Wanda Sykes; Juliette Lewis; Ellen Barkin; and Dominic Burgess among others) and actresses and you’ve got a verifiable winner.  The problem is that Breaking News in Yuba County starts off wonderfully before devolving into a muddled mess that leaves more questions than answers. How did it go so wrong?

The problems begin as soon as Sue gets home. Her husband Carl (Matthew Modine, who gets woefully little screen time) is caught up in a bad situation involving millions of dollars and a tryst in a seedy hotel. Thinking the flowers he purchased were for her, Sue follows him and discovers more than she bargained for. Catching him in the middle of an affair was bad enough, but watching him fall over dead was worse. Suddenly, the film takes on a dark Weekend at Bernie’s feel except she buries Carl and the money in the hotel playground.

This triggers a flood of cops, confusion, and a trio of Mafia-ish characters (including Awkwafina) that are geared up to inflict damage in cruel ways. There’s more, but I’ll focus on Sue’s attempt to increase her popularity as a result of a missing person case not unlike those Nancy Grace episodes on CNN. Her sister Nancy (Mila Kunis) is a local reporter and gets the word out that Sue’s husband is “missing,” but Sue wants to go higher and piggybacks on a national missing person case. At this point, the plot completely unravels and becomes a gore-fest – both in its ending and in a number of grisly deaths that would’ve made the director of Saw proud.  Will Sue be able to finally affirm herself?  You’ll find out if you can make it to the Crash-like ending.

It is important to recognize that a common thread throughout Breaking News in Yuba County involves Sue’s constant attempts to affirm herself.  She starts off talking to herself in the grocery store and is heard recounting the same phrases as she goes from nobody to pseudo-star.  It becomes a catalyst that transforms her into someone who is desperate to do anything to get seen in a popular light (at least in her eyes) by the public. The issue here is not the affirmations themselves, but where the words point her to. They give her ego a massive boost that, once triggered, is near impossible to get rid of.  Conversely, as a Christian, I believe that our affirmations should come from the Bible and the words God tells us. He loves each of us with an everlasting love and has drawn us with lovingkindness (see Jeremiah 31:3).  If that’s good, there’s a whole lot more of these God has to share.  By finding our value and worth in Him, we won’t have to resort to being a part of a racket (knowingly or unknowingly) as Sue horrifyingly discovered. Instead, we can relate to One who sings songs over us (see Zephaniah 3:17)

Breaking News in Yuba County is available on VOD.

Max Cloud: The Importance of Teamwork

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“Max Cloud will shoot first and ask pointed questions later.”

One of the unique aspects of growing up in the 1980s (besides being able to roam free in the neighborhood after school) was the advent of video games.  Sure, you could go to the arcade in the mall or the local pizza parlor and pump quarters into Pole Position, Donkey Kong, or Ms. Pac Man (my personal nemesis), but we longed for something more.  

I have received a number of game systems over the years thanks to my father’s job (Pong; Bally; Odyssey2; Texas Instruments-even learning to code in BASIC), but it was the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1986 that jolted me into a world I never knew existed.  Suddenly there was a connection among friends, all of us attempting to accomplish the same task – defeat games without the use of the Internet, email, chat, or online play. Yes, we called each other on the phone.  Yes, we spent the night at each other’s houses and played until the sun rose. Yes, we drew highly sophisticated maps and conjectured ways of defeating Ganondorf or the Mother Brain. Yes, we did eat highly caloric snacks and played quintessential 1980’s tunes.  Yes, we celebrated the takedown of a game like we won the NBA Championship.

I think that’s why the new film Max Cloud brought back memories for me in a flood of music, icons, and 1980’s-era graphics.  I wanted it to be a film that would evoke the geekiness and excitement of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One while adding a new layer to the world I grew up in.  Sadly, it does neither.   

The story itself is fairly straightforward in nature. Sarah (Isabelle Allen, Les Misérables) is a fan of the Max Cloud videogame series.  While playing one day, she finds an easter egg (code for a secret item) that sends her from playing in her bedroom to being an active part of the game as Jake (Elliot Langridge), Max Cloud’s cook. Her friend Cowboy (Franz Drameh, Hereafter) looks for her and suddenly realizes that in order for Sarah to return to the land of the early 1990’s, he’s going to have to beat the game—or bye bye Sarah/Jake. Sarah’s comrades in the game consist of Rexy (Sally Collett), a somewhat shy and gregarious commander, and Max Cloud himself (Scott Adkins, Zero Dark Thirty; Doctor Strange), a vainly pretentious fighter in the vein of Buzz Lightyear, complete with references to himself in third person.

Every teenager’s bedroom, circa 1990

This sounds awesome! Where does the film go wrong?, you might wonder.  I think it begins with the screenplay itself. There are a number of opportunities for fleshing out the characters and having the viewer connect with Sarah and Max.  However, these are all brushed aside, leaving a bare-bones structure that simply cannot overcome the lack of detail.  The characters simply aren’t given enough to do. I do appreciate the concept, but in this case, less is not necessarily more.

Another area of concern is the unevenness of the graphics and set quality.  The video game Sarah gets pulled into is 16-bit (a la Double Dragon) and would be pretty respectable if it existed in real life. That might explain why the actual video game sets look like something one might find on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Some of the props look wonky as well, such as Rexy’s backpack blaster (it looks better in the actual game than in real life) and the helmets the characters have in case of going out into space. At the end, the final battle is of significantly higher quality, but it’s a bit jarring to see such differing graphics on the screen (think early Nintendo versus a PS5).

Even though there are some definite issues with the film, I did notice that the concept of teamwork is on grand display for the viewer.  The Cowboy realizes that if he doesn’t beat the game (which he has never done), his friend dies. He can hear Sarah, so the two partner to make sure he does the best he can—even resorting to her calling out button presses so the characters will get out of a tight jam. Even her father jumps in to make a critical save of the game at the end.  I’m reminded of a passage in the Bible that says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Life is challenging enough as it is right now (Covid or not), so to have people around to help when the going gets tough-or even to talk to about all types of things-is important. Let us take a lesson from the Bible and video game players—we need each other.

Max Cloud is available on VOD now.

City So Real: A World Within a World

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A woman talks to a police officer during a protest. (Chicago Story Film, LLC)

The city of Chicago has always received less than top billing in the United States.  Its blue-collar, earthy mentality is quite unique when compared to Houston, Los Angeles, or New York City. However, it truly is a world all its own with over 75 separate sections comprising its makeup, each showcasing some of the best (and worst) parts of who we are as a people.  With his five-part drama City So Real (NatGeo, 10.29 and Hulu starting 10.30), director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, America to Me) has provided an opportunity for the city as a whole to give voice on behalf of the entire country – and this is accomplished in remarkable fashion.

I lived and attended school in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, so I’ve seen a thing or two about the town—or so I thought.  Instead, I discovered that I was quite sheltered from the richness and color Chicago has as a whole.  In order to get that, I had to jump on the freeway and drive 25 or so miles east.  But even then, I only spent time in the popular areas (Downtown; Navy Pier; Lakeshore Drive).  Rarely did I ever step foot into the other parts of town.

James, in his over five hour documentary (and I recommend you watch the whole thing), brings to light two portions of life from these 75+ perspectives. The first involves the weeks and months after mayor Rahm Emmanuel decided not to run for reelection.  With the city swimming in financial woes and uncertainty (such as a potentially huge housing project called Lincoln Yards), you might think two or three individuals would come out and run to take over that position.  Wrong! Twenty-one people throw their hat into the fray – from computer coder Neal Sáles-Griffin to Nigerian born Amara Enyia (getting cred from Chace the Rapper and Kanye West) to Richard Daley (whose relatives ran the city for 43 years), the documentary showed off not only the convoluted process Chicago has for its elections, but how each candidate campaigned—and more importantly, how each section of the city responded.  The Sideline Studios, a predominantly African-American haircut place on the South Side, is allowed to let its owner Dionell Hill and his customers air their thoughts a la Coming to America—and they pull no punches. That business is later contrasted with another haircut location that features all Caucasian clientele.  It was refreshing perspective to see and hear the tonal color of these sections of town—and see them firsthand.

The race also coincides with the murder trial of a Chicago cop who killed Laquan McDonald by shooting him 16 times.  Chicago has always been known for corruption—and a large part of the town thinks the office will get off free. They think in mainly binary tones, but when justice is finally reached, it’s a breath of fresh air one part of the city has rarely seen.

The mayoral race gets dirty and competitive – and in the end the winner is a former prosecutor named Lori Lightfoot, a lady who’s willing to walk door to door and meet people to get a vote.  She exhibits a new way of looking things, being both African-American and lesbian.  In the end, she wins in a landslide.

Yard signs display a variety of candidates running in the 2019 Mayor’s race in Chicago. (Chicago Story Film, LLC)

If James were to have stopped here, it would’ve been enough.  However, the last part of the documentary brings the now into perspective – starting in March when Covid-19 began to ransack the country and led to Chicago shutting down, killing many of the mom-and-pop businesses in the process (one resorted to selling jigsaw puzzles and even printing its own money).  Lightfoot’s non-nonsense, don’t-mess-with-me demeanor was one that worked effectively—until people started getting tired of being inside and George Floyd’s death ripped the bandage off racial tensions.  Of course, the story isn’t over—it plays out every day, making Chicago . . .  well . . .  that place Carl Sandburg immortalized in his poem of the same name.

I found the documentary to be cutting, relevant, and well-executed. James has a knack for getting into the minds of people and asking questions that allow them to share who they are and how they’re feeling.  People are definitely willing to talk if you allow them a method to share their voice! I was also impressed about how James allowed each section of town to speak for itself, a unique yet important aspect.  It reminds me of some of the areas mentioned in the Bible—Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem are just three.  Each are part of the overall picture of history and yet each has its own unique flavor.  Jerusalem saw its share of violence and destruction for thousands of years – not only inside but outside the city walls.  Nazareth was a place where people asked if anything good could come from it (in this case, it certainly did). Bethlehem was extremely small and yet is now known as the birthplace of Jesus.  All the pieces, when put together, make up a picture that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  City So Real reveals that in a compelling and gripping way—one you won’t soon forget.

City So Real airs on NatGeo on October 29 and Hulu starting October 30

Bill and Ted Face the Music: Part of the Tapestry

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“We may be old, but we still know how to use a phone book!”

In 1989, theatergoers were treated to a goofy yet fun film called Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. It involved a pair of high school students (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, whose vocabulary mainly consisted of “whoa, “dude,” and “totally”) who tried to save their grade in history by bringing major characters from history into class via time machine disguised as a phone booth. The sequel, Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, wasn’t as well received by audiences, but still kept the quirkiness as Bill and Ted adding bass guitar-playing Death to their band and married a pair of 14th century princesses as they worked on a song to unite humanity.

Thankfully, the phone booth has arrived in the form of Bill and Ted Face the Music! It’s just as fun and madcap as the two previous movies yet adds even more craziness to the fray.  Despite a number of issues, it manages to succeed because, at its heart, the story always comes back to Bill and Ted.

In this third installment, we get to see Bill Preston (Winter) and Ted Logan (Reeves) still in search of that perfect song for their band, Wyld Stallyns. Unfortunately, time has worn on and the boys have been reduced from being part of a worldwide TV spectacular to performing at weddings using trumpets, steel pan drums, bagpipes, and a theremin.  They are still married to the princesses but have a frightening inability of using the word “I” to declare their love to their wives, using “we” instead.  They also have grown daughters named Billie (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and Thea (Samantha Weaving) who are in search of the perfect musical collection and have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of bands, right down to key changes in songs. They spend the first portion of the film listening to music and eating Cheetos (more on that later).

When an egg-shaped item appears in their San Dimas cul-de-sac and Kelly (Kristen Schaal) appears, we learn that something bad is about to happen. Called ‘the Great Unraveling’, it was set in motion by Bill and Ted’s history project of 1989; famous characters are shifting positions in time and if not fixed, the world will end.  They have to simply create that song—and they only have a few hours to do it!  No pressure. They’re given a stern reprimand by the Great Leader (Holland Taylor), who thinks they can’t do it and later sends an android to kill them.

Bill and Ted then begin a spiral into a time travel sequence that is dizzying in its scope as they discover their future, what they can do about it, and themselves. Their kids see the issue and recreate, to some extent, their fathers’ original journey, this time grabbing famous musicians to create a band for Bill and Ted to play behind. A fun scene is watching Jimi Hendrix getting in the mind of a famous composer. Before this film is over, they’ll travel thousands of years, have a brush with Death (who cheats at hopscotch), and stand alongside their fathers for a final stand.

Billie, Thea, and . . . Cudi?

Some of the Bill and Ted purists might be upset that they had daughters instead of boys (as was alluded to in the last film), but Reeves and Winter use “Little Bill” and “Little Ted” to refer to Billie and Thea, so that’s not too much of an issue.  For me, the bigger issue involves some rather obvious and obnoxious product placement—see if you can count the major brands represented! In addition, there’s some serious deus ex machina going on to tidy the film at the end, which makes the ending feel unearned. But perhaps that doesn’t matter in the end . . .

One line from the film that stuck with me involved a pocketwatch Bill and Ted are given by Kelly.  It belonged to her late father Rufus (George Carlin, who director Dean Parisot honors with a nice holographic cameo) and when opened, contained this quote: “Sometimes things don’t make sense until the end of the story.”  There are many days where I would just like to see—even for an instant—the effect of my life years from now.  What did this action do?  How did that 20 second conversation with someone make an impact in their life?  What we see in reality is the back of a needlepoint project – there are lots of colors and string, but there seems to be no real rhyme or reason to any of it. That’s where God enters the picture.  He’s got it all figured out–even in the middle of a global pandemic or those days when we’re struggling to make it through the next hour–and we will one day see the tapestry flip over to reveal why things happened the way they did.  (As a Christian, I can’t help but be reminded of Paul, who put it this way: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” [Romans 8:18].)

Is Bill and Ted Face the Music going to win any Academy Awards?  Nope.  

Is it going to provide viewers a ninety-minute break from a world ravaged by a pandemic, besieged with protests, and deteriorating before our very eyes? It very well might!

Bill and Ted Face the Music is available in theatres and on PVOD now.

Words on Bathroom Walls – Reveal Yourself!

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This is fine. Or is it?

High school is a challenging time for many individuals. It’s not as simple as heading to class, earning good grades, and getting into a dream college.  There are additional things to consider: Should I be a part of the Drama Club or go out for the baseball team? Are people going to judge me based on my clothing choices, the car I drive, or the posts on my Insta account? Is it worth the rejection if I ask the cheerleader out to dinner and a movie? In the film Words on Bathroom Walls, Adam Petrazelli (Charley Plummer) also has to deal with a trio of personas living their ‘lives’ out in his head. It’s enough to cause someone to lose their mind—and he almost does.

We meet Adam through flashbacks as he recounts his experiences to a psychologist.  He’s had to deal with schizophrenia for his entire life in the form of laid-back Joaquin (Devon Bostick), who tells him to say all of his unfiltered thoughts; free-spirit Rebecca (Annasophia Robb), who is very much peace-loving; and The Bodyguard (Lobo Sebastian), who administers justice with an aluminum baseball bat. There’s also a menacing black fog that shows up and threatens Adam with put-downs – this leads to a situation in chemistry class that gets Adam expelled. His mom (Molly Parker) tries to help him, knowing that he’s an incredible chef and has one chance to attain culinary school. To that end, she and his new stepfather Paul (Walton Goggins) enroll him in St. Agatha Catholic School. “I’m not even Catholic,” Adam says as he meets with the head of the school. The Bodyguard gets involved, throwing a lit cigar on the floor, starting a virtual fire that immediately (and hilariously) calls to mind the meme where a dog is sitting in a burning room and quips, “This is fine.” There are high standards at St. Agatha, and Adam is determined to reach them via the help of a new medication he’s taking as part of a clinical trial. Sure enough, the medicine works and the three personas begin to disappear, allowing him to be his true self.

Does the guy get the girl? You’ll have to see the film to find out.

While in this single persona state, Adam begins to figure out the school. He finds a bathroom scrawled with words—and nefarious behavior in the form of soon-to-be valedictorian Maya (Taylor Russell).  She calls herself “The Bernie Madoff of academic fraud,” making money by helping kids with assignments. Adam watches a transaction and is somewhat smitten by Maya, and over time (due to his excellent cooking) wins her friendship. But he discovers there’s more to Maya than meets the eye. Adam also begins to accept some truth about himself (and confession in the form of 1 John 1:9) via Father Patrick (Andy Garcia).  When the medicine begins to cause serious side effects, Adam has a choice to make: keep taking it or stop, allowing the personas to return, possibly threatening to undo all the positives from his time at the school.

Words on Bathroom Walls calls to mind Daniel Keyes’ classic story Flowers for Algernon, where Charlie Gordon undergoes an experimental surgery that boosts his IQ to genius levels. It causes him to make sense of his world in ways never imagined before.  Adam begins to understand life free from the constraints of schizophrenia, but finally realizes that people close to him love him and want the best for him regardless. I do think the physical personas were a touch of genius, but director Thor Freudenthal’s work was overshadowed by two things: a lack of interaction between Adam and other students and an overly formulaic ending that didn’t seem realistic (considering the nature of a mental condition). Regardless, it was a film that helps to bring the topic of mental disorders in teens into a more mainstream discussion.

One of the takeaways that I had from the movie involved being true to oneself as well as others.  Obviously, Adam didn’t want people to know about his condition (he was bullied in the early stages of the film for it), but Maya did the same thing.  It reminds me a lot of how life has changed since The Virus That Must Not Be Named made an entrance into our lives. In addition to changing societal norms like handshakes and hugs, it has become a magnifying glass that has peered into the souls of billions of people and exposed many deep-seated beliefs—or even prejudices—in the form of BLM, facial coverings, or other thoughts/feelings kept inside for too long and eventually released – see Matthew 12:34). May we consider a better option—the mind of Christ, who was humble and embodied a servant heart and attitude (see Philippians 2:5-11). That will go a long way as our world goes forward. 

Being real can be a good thing! It just took a few words on some bathroom walls to remind me of that fact.

Words on Bathroom Walls is available on VOD on August 21st, 2020.

The Grizzlies: Hope is Not Cancelled

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The opening of the recent film The Grizzlies silently follows a boy on a walk with his dog amidst a desolate landscape. He sits down amidst the rocky crags, calls his dog over, and pets him. Then the boy shoots himself, leaving the dog to run free.  It’s an extremely jarring beginning to a film.

The boy is a member of the Nunavaut tribe in Northern Canada. Life for the people is categorized by standing around, drinking, smoking, and trying to survive a brutal climate.  It’s no wonder the town has the highest suicide rate in the country.

Entering into this is Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer), a young guy whose life has taken a northern detour to Nunavaut in order to teach high school students. He’s a bit arrogant and thinks he can simply come in sight unseen and make things happen, but soon experiences culture shock when what he thinks is a basic run to the grocery store ends up costing him hundreds of dollars. Sheppard’s first class in the town of Kugluktuk doesn’t fare much better. There are a handful of kids and only one (Miranda, played by Emerald MacDonald) has any interest in academics. Sheppard tries to go “by the books,” gets into a heated discussion with another student, then blocks the door and tells the student they’ll have to get past him first. The student punches Sheppard directly in the face and walks out.

Sheppard wants to get through to the kids and get them out of their situations, but their lives are mired in hopelessness he doesn’t fully understand. He attempts to push students to get better but to no avail. He protects one of his students from domestic abuse. He sees another student who is struggling and counsels him with basic platitudes. This backfires when Sheppard discovers the boy killed himself after their talk. Sheppard struggles with the ramifications and begins to wonder whether he can make any positive difference at all.

However, a breakout occurs when Sheppard realizes he already has the key to the tribe in his hands—a lacrosse stick. In Canada, the sport is nearly on par with ice hockey (it’s their national summer sport), but the students are reluctant to trust him when he begins to introduce the concept of a team. Only when he earns the trust of Adam (Ricky Marty-Pahtaykan) does the town begin to show interest—even allowing a mini-tournament to be held in the local gym. That success leads Sheppard to enter a team from Kugluktuk into the national tournament.  This drives a rift between the younger and older generation that threatens to rip the tribe apart.  

The Grizzlies appears on the scene in a very unique time in history – it was scheduled to be released in the US in late February (I had the opportunity to screen it at that time), but The Virus Which Must Not Be Named pushed the release to this month. My first take on the film: there are some nice aspects (particularly the cinematography and acting of the teenage characters), but the desperation and darkness at the beginning is simply too heavy for the rest of the film to overcome. I still believe this six months later, but I think we need the ending more than ever right now.

Hope is on the way . . . be ready for it!

With the world deep in the throes of a pandemic, the months of staying at home and limited contact with others (outside of a computer screen) have had a profound effect on people. A sense of hopelessness has developed as the days drag on. Frustration mounts as news reports provide pictures and videos providing conflicting information. Fear has arisen due to the unknowns and changes from what was once normal behavior. Yet hope isn’t cancelled. The sun rises each morning as a gentle reminder that today has the potential to be better than yesterday. As the Bible puts it, “[H]ope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it” (Romans 8:24-25 NASB).  We long for the days when handshakes and hugs become commonplace, when phrases such as social distancing disappear from use.  We might not see things change immediately, but we keep praying and doing our part to help end the pandemic, remaining hopeful in the eventual outcome.

At the end of The Grizzlies, the team plays its qualification matches at the national tournament, but the stresses of life, the expectations of a community, and Sheppard’s decision to leave the tribe rain hopelessness on everyone. Goal after goal after goal is scored on them—and they have no comeback. But hope is waiting and enters the stage at the perfect time, performing a transformational work.

The Grizzlies is available on demand now.

Artemis Fowl: The Ways of the Father

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Blues Brothers, where are you?

Since I’m not a huge fan of the Artemis Fowl series, I’ve decided to allow someone who is the ability to share their thoughts. In this case, it’s my daughter Rebecca.

Here’s what she had to say . . .

I started reading the Artemis Fowl series one day in my sophomore year of high school and immediately fell in love with the sarcastic criminal mastermind that the books are named after. I loved the way that Holly Short used her wits to make the best of every situation. I ravenously devoured the series and was quite delighted–and at the same time annoyed–with the ending. When I discovered that Eoin Colfer was writing a second series starring some of Artemis’ family, I was ecstatic. Then I heard Disney was making a movie and began counting the days until it landed on Disney+.

I was able to watch Artemis Fowl recently and was immediately struck with the remembrance that Colfer made changes to the film so it would fit what he had originally planned for the series. If you’re a fan of the books, prepare yourself in advance for some deviations. Overall, the movie has top-notch CGI and is a thrilling fast-paced adventure that leaves you hanging off your seat, waiting for more. Thankfully, the movie paves the way for a sequel and is a good reminder that, as we prepare to celebrate Father’s Day, we need to be thankful for the dads in our lives.

Set along the shores of Ireland, a place where magic seems to be present everywhere you look and home to Fowl Manor, where Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) and his father (Colin Farrell) live, this movie shows the majestic wonder that is the surface world. Artemis does not believe in the fairies and magic, but grew up being told tales of them by his father. Artemis’ father is captured by a mysterious person and the world seems to come to the realization that the Fowls are criminal masterminds (which isn’t far from the truth, actually). The mystery person calls and makes a deal with the young Artemis Fowl: his father in exchange for a mysterious artifact of the fairykind.

Peek-a-boo!

Cut to the underground world, where it is discovered that this artifact is already missing, and we meet the young (at least in fairy years) Officer Holly Short (Lara McDonnell), the daughter of the fairykind traitor, Beechwood Short. Holly is assigned a mission to the surface world by gravel-voiced Commander Julius Root (Judi Dench) and, at the same time, Artemis discovers that the world of the fairies is real and he begins to put together a plan to save his father. This part is almost identical to how it is in the books, with Holly being captured and used as bait by Artemis for the fairies. Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad) is brought in, ultimately finds the artifact, and Holly uses it to save Artemis’ father from the evil Opal Koboi, and return home safely. At this point, cue Artemis and the others becoming a team and preparing to kick Opal’s butt.

Despite the fact that he is indeed a criminal mastermind, Arty’s dad loves him very much and tries to spend as much time with him as possible whenever he is home. It’s pretty evident that Artemis’ father wants the best for his son–even to the point that he’s already prepared the way for Artemis so that, in time, he will discover everything his father has prepared for him. To this end, Arty’s father has provided his child a journal with all of his notes inside. In the same way, Arty’s father is like our father in heaven. God has prepared the way for those who love Him and His Son Jesus while providing resources like the Bible to read and put into practice. In addition, Artemis’ butler and his niece Juliet are there (just like fellow believers) to help Arty along the way–no matter how uncertain life seems. It should give us great comfort, therefore, to know God is always there for us. Perhaps it would be a good idea, on occasion, to tell Him “thank you” for all He’s done.

Of course, telling Dad the same thing (and giving him a hug) wouldn’t hurt either . . . 

The Call of the Wild: True Friends

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If there is one thing the global pandemic has taught us, it’s that our way of living can be turned upside down quite easily. We have all felt the effects of something no naked eye can see. Companies have been reduced to shells of themselves—or even cease to exist. People have learned to adapt to life in a technologically driven world—often through a computer screen. It makes for a world that may look and feel quite different once society is ready to push the start button again. It’s interesting that the recent film The Call of the Wild makes the concept of friendship a focal point, reminding us all that even if we don’t think we need each other, we really do.

Set at the end of the 19th century during the Klondike Gold Rush, the film (adapted from Jack London’s beloved novel) focuses on a dog named Buck.  At the beginning of the movie, he lives with a judge in Santa Clara, California. Buck is huge—both in size and in the ability to cause problems (such as giving into temptation and chowing down on a massive buffet set up for the judge’s guests).  He is captured one night and is thrown on a train to Skagway Alaska, where he delivers mail as part of a sled dog team led by Perrault (Omar Sy) and Francoise (Cara Gee). He’s ready to run the show but doesn’t understand how the pecking order works.  Spitz is Perrault’s alpha dog and will not give it up easily.  However, Buck’s compassion and generosity to the other sled dogs has a ripple effect that eventually leads to him taking over and helping Perrault and Francoise deliver the mail on time for the first time ever. 

But that’s not Buck’s overall plan for life—Perrault and Francois lose their jobs and his sled dog team is sold to Hal (Dan Stevens), a man with a vile temper and no knowledge of how to lead anything or anybody.  As a result, he almost drives the dog team to the breaking point—until John Thornton (Harrison Ford) shows up and rescues him, infuriating Hal even further.  Why did John rescue Buck?  It seems the two had met each other a few times in the past, with Buck returning John’s harmonica to him in Skagway.  This friendship is exactly what the two need, even as they endure nature, the aforementioned Hal, and Buck’s discovery of his place in the world.

The film itself has numerous scenes of absolute beauty—both visually and emotionally. Director Chris Sanders, in his directorial debut, does a nice job weaving in plot points, action sequences, and the requisite Harrison Ford voiceover.  I do think the ending was a bit telegraphed, but it still had a satisfying element to it due to the connection John and Buck have with each other. For the most part, the other characters weren’t memorable, although Sy’s Perrault reminds me of Cool Runnings for some reason (say it with me: “Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme . . .”). If there is a real issue in the movie, it involves the CGI.  In this day and age, we’re used to realism exactly like real life.  There were a number of times where I was actually distracted due to seeing something abnormal (the jumping on the beds in Judge Miller’s house was one).  However, The Call of the Wild does a good enough job to warrant a recommendation from me.

John Thornton had life change for him with the loss of his son, Tim. He needed stability that did not arrive when he wanted it.  However, Buck’s entrance into his life was a game-changer for him.  John gave into his sense of adventure and began to transform into the person Tim would’ve been proud of. This is exactly what a true friend does—they see our good and our bad yet make the conscious choice to challenge, encourage, and love us.  In fact, the Bible says that “A friend loves at all times” (Proverbs 17:17 NASB).  In life—and even moreso during this once-in-a-lifetime situation we find ourselves in—we need true friends to rally around us as we rally around them. Buck changed for the better in the film and this is part of the reason why. May we take his example to heart today!  

The Call of the Wild is available on VOD now.